What are we reading? Plus, our first Spring Cleaning Giveaway!

We’ve been enjoying lots of amazing books recently over here at Lytherus, and we wanted to share some of our favorites so you can have even more books on your to-read pile!

Here’s what some of us are reading this week:

Diana:

I’ve just finished binge-reading Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples. I don’t know why I hadn’t read this sooner, because it’s absolutely amazing. But when I suddenly felt like reading graphic novels, this seemed like a good choice, everyone spoke wonders about it. And yet I was still surprised, even with all the praise I had read about it.

It’s amazingly written and drawn, it’s fun and speaks about important themes at the same time, and it’s such a universal story, such an epic, well, saga! I can see why people compare it to Star Wars (one of the reasons I initially started to read it, not going to lie), but it’s its own story with its own merit and without a doubt with the potential to be a classic on its own. You care about the characters and they are all very well developed with their own stories and motivations, whether they’re villains, heroes, or just secondary characters. The way their stories interwoven, how previous plots make a comeback to surprise you, and how each chapter ends in cliffhangers just makes you keep reading and reading. I read the 4 volumes that are already out too quickly, and now I’m in withdrawal. I need more (I also need suggestions of more graphic novels, throw them at me)!! Now I’m starting to read Clementine by Chérie Priest, but I’ll tell you more about that next week!

Emma:

The Just City by Jo Walton. I grabbed this book based on the blurb alone which is something I usually try to avoid after being repeatedly disappointed. Not today! I think someone unfamiliar with Plato’s Republic and Greek mythology would still find this book extremely well written and intriguing. As someone who has studied both, I find it insanely intelligent and deliciously subversive. While I’ve probably read a book’s worth of Walton’s online nonfiction, this is the first novel I’ve read by her, and I now fully intended to go binge read the rest.

Lauren:

I just finished the audiobook of Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch, and it was AMAZING. There are eight kingdoms in this world, and four of them are season-based. Winter’s kingdom was overrun by Spring, and though most of the Winterians are in workers camps, twenty-five escaped when the fighting happened, and they’ve spent the years trying to get their kingdom back. To do this they need a magical locket that Spring took. The book revolves around an orphan girl who was one of the twenty-five, and her trials as she deals with love, loyalty, and loss. This book was simply fantastic, and I highly recommend it to those who enjoy YA fantasy. It’s a fresh, new idea, and yet there are lots of familiar fantasy elements that fans will love.

Also, it’s Friday, which means it’s time to kick off our April book giveaways! We’re spring cleaning our giveaway shelves, getting some older books into new hands: yours! Today’s giveaway books are by two amazing authors, Catherine Fisher and Caitlin Kittredge. We’ve featured both of them in the past, and we’re excited to be getting books from two amazing series out to you. We’re also throwing in a signed 5×7 photograph from Christopher Paolini!

What are the series about? Here are the blurbs of the first books:

In the city of Lovecraft, the Proctors rule and a great Engine turns below the streets, grinding any resistance to their order to dust. The necrovirus is blamed for Lovecraft’s epidemic of madness, for the strange and eldritch creatures that roam the streets after dark, and for everything that the city leaders deem Heretical—born of the belief in magic and witchcraft. And for Aoife Grayson, her time is growing shorter by the day.
Aoife Grayson’s family is unique, in the worst way—every one of them, including her mother and her elder brother Conrad, has gone mad on their 16th birthday. And now, a ward of the state, and one of the only female students at the School of Engines, she is trying to pretend that her fate can be different.

Incarceron is a prison so vast that it contains not only cells and corridors, but metal forests, dilapidated cities, and wilderness. It has been sealed for centuries, and only one man has ever escaped. Finn has always been a prisoner here. Although he has no memory of his childhood, he is sure he came from Outside. His link to the Outside, his chance to break free, is Claudia, the warden’s daughter, herself determined to escape an arranged marriage. They are up against impossible odds, but one thing looms above all: Incarceron itself is alive . . .

We love talking about what we’re reading and sharing good books, and we want to know what you’re enjoying too. Tell us below for your chance to be entered!

This giveaway runs until 11:59 PM on April 9th, EST. It’s open to US residents only (international people, we will have something for you in upcoming weeks!).

About Author

Lauren Zurchin is a professional photographer, creator of the 'Beyond Words' author calendar, and a life-long book enthusiast. When not catching up on the latest YA titles, she can be found nerding out to birds and roadtripping across the US.

Dear Lytherus visitors: Our seven year journey as a fantasy and science fiction blog has come to a (hopefully temporary) end. As of September, we're entering an indefinite hiatus and are moving our operations over to Shurtugal.com, our sister site. There you'll be able to find familiar voices writing book reviews and reporting on the latest fandom news. We're not closing the door on Lytherus for good, as it's a project many of us would like to revisit in the future. For now, we encourage you to head over to Shurtugal.com to continue the adventure. Thanks for a wonderful seven years, and we hope to see you again soon!